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Detailed travelogue on Australia and New Zealand

Detailed Travelogue on Australia and New Zealand

Larry
2006-05-27 03:23:16

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cars
had come in, and indeed one had. So I stopped in at the Alice Springs city
location and traded the large Ford Falcon in for a small Nissan Pulsar
sedan, which was thankfully more fuel-efficient than the large Ford.
However, in the Ford's favor, I have to say that it was a nice car to drive.
I dislike American Fords, but the European and Australian Fords are quite
different. This Ford (made in Australia) was nice, and if I had need of a
large car, I would consider it.
By the time I reached the north of Australia, rain had set in (summer is
the rainy season in the north), and I wanted to return the car a day early
(6 days instead of 7). I called ahead to the Darwin Airport Budget office
(where I would drop the car off early in the morning), and asked if this
would be OK. The man there said "no worries", and told me that while I
wouldn't get a refund for the unused day, there wouldn't be any additional
costs. So I returned the car a day early. Upon returning to the U.S.,
Budget mailed me a copy of the invoice, and they charged me A$1152.00
(US$926) -- for a 6-day rental!! Someone had made a mistake, giving me a
rate charging 25c for each km (and I drove a LOT of kms!) instead of the
unlimited km rate that I was guaranteed in my reservation. Budget though,
admitted their mistake, and put everything right within two weeks of me
bringing it to their attention.

A few misc notes on cars and driving in Australia: In Australia, the
insurance on car rental is manditory, and INCLUDED in the price of renting
the car (in most countries, it's extra). There's still optional insurance
available to cover a deductable, but if you have a Gold Visa card, Visa will
cover it if anything happens.
Australia has a large car industry, especially considering the relatively
small size of its ...

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